City of Canandaigua ponders crosswalk options

CANANDAIGUA — A week after a Canandaigua woman was struck and killed at a South Main Street crosswalk, the city’s Ordinance Committee once again brainstormed ideas to increase safety downtown.

No decision was made during the discussion Tuesday, Sept. 17; however, Mayor Ellen Polimeni said action has been taken in the form of a letter. She said Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua, is drafting a letter to the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT). In the letter, Kolb will request that the DOT review the Main Street issues in the central business district and beyond, make recommendations and discuss those options with the city.

Any changes — including crosswalk removal, speed change and additional signs — would need to be approved by the DOT before being implemented.

The safety issue was added to the Ordinance Committee meeting agenda following the death of Viki L. Perry, 56, of Canandaigua, who was struck by a car in a South Main Street intersection Sept. 10. She died of injuries from the accident later that day at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester. She was struck by Annette A. Oliver, 50, of Canandaigua, as Oliver attempted to turn onto Saltonstall Street.

Canandaigua Police Chief Jon Welch, who was at Tuesday’s meeting, said Perry’s death is still under investigation and no tickets have been issued at this point. He added that the investigation should be completed soon, though he didn’t give a specific date.

“There are mitigating factors,” Welch said of the crash. “There are not the normal factors of a crosswalk (motor vehicle accident)”

Welch added that most crosswalk crashes result from one car running into the back of another vehicle, due to people not paying attention. For instance, Welch said he witnessed a pedestrian — on the same day of the fatal crash — cross the road without looking. This person was instead looking at their phone, he said.

Councilmembers agreed that part of the problem is lack of attention from both drivers and pedestrians. As for ideas to fix this problem, along with other solutions to prevent another tragedy, opinions varied.

“One thing that tragedy brings about is you can either move back and retreat, or move forward and make things better,” said Councilmember Bill Taylor, addressing requests from residents to remove mid-block crosswalks that are not signalized.

Councilmember David Whitcomb — who suggested earlier this year that the city remove non-signalized crosswalks — disagreed with Taylor. “I still don't think we should take it off the table to eliminate non-signalized crosswalks,” Whitcomb said, specifically mentioning the crosswalk in front of Commons Park. “It has to be part of the package.”

Whitcomb noted that his similar proposal was not supported by a City Council vote near the beginning of the year. The council did approve changes in April, though, with the goal to improve safety.

At that time, City Council approved yellow flashing lights at three Main Street crosswalks — including the Saltonstall and Antis streets crossing — to be installed as part of the Main Street revamp project that is currently underway. Assistant City Manager Bryan White said the signs will not be added this month, but the plan is to add them later this fall.